Time is Money – What are you Sacrificing for Money?

What are you sacrificing for money? Is it Time? Or perhaps physical or mental health? It is a question that I think many people don’t bother to ask themselves, as they don’t feel that they are sacrificing anything. I have been wanting to write this post for a while now and I finally got the motivation to do so after reading this post over at The Free Financial Advisor where The Other Guy asked the following question:

What’s the purpose of money?Money equals happiness. Happiness is freedom. Freedom to do what you please with whom you please when you please. I’m not talking about being pompous, flashy, or flamboyant, but rather just having the ultimate freedom to do whatever you want.

Then I also saw the following image of the Dali Lama which an old colleague of mine posted on Facebook:

As my extended leave from work is fast coming to an end, I have found myself thinking more and more about money and what I am giving up in order to get more of it.

So What Are You Sacrificing For Money?

The most obvious thing that I am sacrificing for money is my time, although I am sure both my health and mental state are also suffering… Anyway, for me personally when I return to work in a couple of weeks I will be sacrificing time away from my wife my newborn son and let’s not forget Ricky.

As I am getting older, it is becoming more and more apparent that my time is a valuable thing, it isn’t something that I can get a refund on if it doesn’t turn out the way I wanted it to – once it’s spent, it’s spent. Over the last few years I have started to feel like time is slipping away from me. Each day becomes shorter than the last and weeks start blurring into months that soon become years.

Something that I am all too aware of is how much time I spend at work. You know – the 9 to 5 daily grind, or in my case it begins at 6:30am and finished at 3pm. My wife and I realised that time was important to us a couple of years ago and we decided to each take a 15% pay cut to enjoy the benefits of working a 9 day fortnight instead of the traditional 10 day.

Obviously if you just look at the numbers then this was a foolish move. 1 day out of 10 only equals 10%, and we are both losing 15%. So as a family unit we are essentially out of pocket 10% of our total take home pay each fortnight. Nevertheless, we both enjoy our day off immensely, it gives us a chance to unwind and do things like go to the beach without having to deal with the crowds and the traffic.

A year ago this month we were reminded of just how important time is when one of my wife’s best friends was cruelly taken away from us with melanoma in her early twenties. It was a huge shock to the system, and I think both my wife and I now appreciate our time far more because of this tragedy than we ever could have before.

Life Experiences

I tend to group people into 2 main categories.

The people who have lots of money and heaps of stuff they don’t really need, but who never really experience much of the world.

The people who get to travel and experience the different sites, wonders and cultures of the world, but never have much money to their name.

Currently both of my brothers are a long way from home. They are touring the USA and have had the opportunity to experience New York and Las Vegas before they both experience living life in sunny London for the next year. I group them into category 2.

I am having a slightly different life experience – learning how to care for a new born baby (So I put myself into category 1). Each of these different walks of life cost money, but the difference is that I have never really done the big overseas travel thing. It is something that I really want to do, but I have always been ruled by my mindset of paying off debt as fast as possible, and getting more money to set myself up for later in life. The problem is that lately I have been starting to wonder – when is “later in life” and how will I know when I get there?

I do want to do more traveling around the world before my time on this Earth is finished, but now I will have to do this with at least 1 child. I could wait until he is grown up, but then I may be in poor health and I could miss the boat entirely. I don’t regret the decision to have a child – I wouldn’t give Nick up for anything in the world, but I do want more time to be able to live my life the way I want to live it.

Unfortunately for me to live the life I want to live I need to get more money, and the most likely way for me to get that money is to continue working at my desk job. So the obvious question is – how much money do I need? Well that’s an interesting question, and unfortunately I don’t have an answer – I should, but I don’t. I will have to ponder this over the coming days and weeks before more time slips away. All I know at this point is that I don’t need a lot of money, just enough for me to get by and support my family. I have no need for extravagant material things, but I do want to travel before I get too old.

Readers

What are your views on life, money and the time you have left? Do you have any profound insight to offer about your own life or for me personally?

Because I work for myself, it’s taken a long time for me not to feel the urge to grab everything I’m offered, on the grounds that it will ‘go away.’ (Freelancing of any kind, whether it’s writing, or in my case, judging, teaching or appraising, will do that.)
It’s the age-old struggle between feast or famine — either I am crazy-busy, trying to jam all the opportunities in, or I have blank spots in my schedule, then try not to worry. Stupid.
Another lesson learned the hard way — if you charge more for your services, people will decide that they must be worth more! I don’t get this, but it’s happened often.Cindy Brick recently posted..Decorating In Print

Haha I wrote a very similar post to this that I have scheduled for tomorrow. Essentially a good reason to make more money is to give you more flexibility, whether it’s through having a large bank account or to pay down debt. Bad reasons – if you are using money as a measuring stick or letting it define you.DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..Websites That Help You Save Money – Part One

Great post, Glen. We still kick ourselves regularly for not getting our financial crap together years ago, because of the fact now that we need to earn more money to fix our situation. You guys are SO close to being done with debt – kick it up big time, get out, and be done, so that your life is your own!Laurie @thefrugalfarmer recently posted..An Interview with Shannon Ryan, from The Heavy Purse

Don’t get me wrong, I know we are in a very enviable position when it comes to our debt situation and our age, but I can’t help but wonder what the future holds.
As for you guys and your finances – at least you realised the mistakes you were making. Getting your act together now is still better than in a couple of years.

My goal is to have money *and* experiences. I like to spend my money on experiences, not things. It is crazy to buy a bunch of stuff and never experience anything.Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Planning Ahead: The Advantages of Life Planning

This is something that we have been thinking about a LOT lately. If we weren’t working so hard, then everything we would have would still be possible. We could go for experiences (we have a lot planned) and make them a reality.Michelle recently posted..How To Make Money Blogging

Good post Glen. I wrote a post called “Value Time, Not Money” quite some time ago and I definitely agree that time is far more precious than any amount of money. It’s tough to find the right balace sometimes.
Thanks for the great post!Jacob@CashCowCouple recently posted..What’s Your Financial Lifestyle? (Part 2)

Good post Glen! I love money and think I know a little about it, but I’ll take time over money any day. I don’t know if that comes from the loss of our son, or me just getting older (it’s probably a combination of the two) but time is so precious and there is very little you can do to get more of it.John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Discover it™ Card Review: A Good Option to Have in Your Wallet

I work a 8:30-5 job but my work day really starts at 6:20 and doesn’t end until I get home at 5:45ish. Right now I am working to pay off my debt, hoping that I can gain more life experiences like travel in the nearby future without debt looming in the shadows. This is a great post Glen. 🙂Girl Meets Debt recently posted..Money Mistakes I Made in My 20s That I Won’t Repeat in My 30s

I didn’t include my travel time to and from work – I really should have as it can be quite lengthy on occasion.
I still think that paying down debt is a great idea, but I just need to think more about my future after debt.

Norwegians are said to work to live, instead of live to work, which I honestly think is a good thing. Instead of using all your time, and by so all your life, working, we work to a certain amount, and then use the rest of our time on things we enjoy; family, hobbies, travels.The Norwegian Girl recently posted..Being an Introvert

Great post Glen! I think as one gets older, and especially after one has a child, you realize that life really is short. I completely get where you are coming from! I want to travel and experience life, and don’t want to wait until I’m older, or my daughter is older, or this that and the other is paid off. Life goes by so fast, you know?Mackenzie recently posted..Currently…

I should move to Norway! Seriously, there was a time in our lives we had more money than we knew what to do with, but we discovered there are nicer things in life you can have and do with far less money. So we opted out of the rat race 30 years a go, and have been happier ever since.William @ Bite the Bullet recently posted..Midnight: Cinderella Goes… To Hollywood?

Great post Glen! Life is very short and if we keep working and thinking that we can do all the things we want to do later, as you say, we may not be in the best of health later, or we may not even be here. Our circumstances can change in an instant and no one ever died thinking “I just wish I had worked more hours”.Sicorra recently posted..Let’s Play 20 Questions With Shannon @TheHeavyPurse

After being diagnosed with a pretty serious condition a few years back, I’m always thinking about how I’m sacrificing my time for money. I think I’d like to build up enough passive income for a simple life, and that would be enough

This is something that I have struggled with.
As many have stated, I’d like to build passive income so that I’m more free to do what I want. However, what I want may end up making money and thus I could get the best of both worlds. I’m not really a materialistic person, but I value security.Justin recently posted..Laurie, The Frugal Farmer’s Path

I also value income security and so I am interested in diversifying my income sources to more than just my day job. The other thing I want to be able to do is eventually reduce the number of hours I have to put in at my day job so I can focus on other activities.

Weird you would almost think we were writing posts together today lol. I think my post today says it all. I’m also sacrificing time for money but at what point does it become too much. I’ve come to the conclusion that in life we only get one chance to get it right. Saving for the future is important to us but so is our time together experiencing things that we want to do before our time is up. Like I said, Skype Doesn’t Reach Heaven! Cheers mateCanadian Budget Binder recently posted..Life, Money and Retirement~Skype Doesn’t Reach Heaven

Wow, it’s certainly going around today! Glen, I had this argument with myself a little over two years ago. We were hugely in credit card debt. I was working ALL the time, and we had a 3 year old was in day care every day. What’s wrong with this picture? I decided to end credit card debt, sell my business, and figure out some way to work less. It’s taken this long, and it will still be a few months before the last phase of the business sale, but I am working much less and it’s wonderful. In two more years my commercial rental will be paid off and I will have more options. I honestly don’t want to take a year to travel around the world. A few trips a year is perfectly fine with us. Kids travel really well when they hit 5 or so. So, I hope to be a combination of categories 1 and 2. I’m not sure what your answer should be, but if you can get your debt low enough or find a way to earn enough to cut back your work schedule, I think the rest will fall into place. This week I actually have to work all five days to fill in for a doc who’s out of town. I’m only to Wednesday, but I am feeling a bit like my old, tired out self. I’m more irritable. I got into an argument with my husband over something that wouldn’t have normally been a big deal. I can’t do the full time thing anymore and keep my sanity. I think when you get to the point where it seem like you are, you start making plans. It might even take a few years, but I know you can find a way to have a great balance. That was rambling, but I feel like I’ve been there, and I just want to say it can get better.Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..Is Living in a Small Town Better?

Thanks for the detailed reply Kim, it is good to know that others go through a similar thing. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with where I am at in life, I just need to make sure I have a way forward so that I don’t end up wasting my time.

I want both experiences and money, so now that I paid off debt I have to sacrifice in order to have an emergency fund, then I will take some fun money and start traveling more. win-winFinancial Black Sheep recently posted..What Would you do With a Windfall of Money?

Money isn’t as important to me now. As long as we have enough to feed ourselves and live a comfortable life, that’s plenty for me. I would love to travel more as well, but has the same dilemma. I think we’ll travel more in the US over the next 5 years. After that we’ll add more international trips. Once the kid is gone, I would love to do an RTW trip. Hopefully we’ll still be healthy enough to enjoy it.Joe recently posted..5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Turn Your Hobby Into A Money Maker

No regrets so far, I could have much more money in the bank but would not be happy, so I am glad I got to experience the world and spend money. Money is what you would have to pay for me to sacrifice time and go work for you, and I value time too much so the price I would ask would not be worth it for an employer.Pauline recently posted..Who is (really) retired?

Pauline, you have lived more of what I call life in the last year that I have followed you than I have in my almost 30 years. Honestly I think reading your posts when you were deciding if you should stay in France or move to Guatemala was what got me thinking about my own life in the back of my mind. It is only recently though that I have brought it out as something I am thinking about more and more.

A great post, Glen! Sicorra mentioned it on her post today, so I had to come check it out. I love that quote by the Dali Lama. It is so easy to get wrapped in earning money – even when your intent is good. But life is about living! My father always told me that it wasn’t the amount of money you had, but what you did with your money that mattered. It’s something I take to heart every day. I want my money to give me freedom, but I don’t want it to consume my life. I want to experience life and create life-long memories with my family and friends. Money is the tool to help make that happen.Shannon @ The Heavy Purse recently posted..Want to Experience Financial Freedom? Then Set Goals

Thanks Shannon 🙂 I think what your father said was spot on. So far all I am doing with my money is paying down debt (which isn’t a bad thing), I just need to work out what happens then? Do I keep accumulating money to retire really early, or do I go have heaps of experiences? I think the answer probably lies in the middle.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my site and to leave a comment for the first time, I really appreciate it 🙂

I’m all about the experiences and work-life balance, and I practice what I preach by traveling any chance I get. I can’t imagine working so much so blindly that the years slip by unnoticed without at least a few epic adventures sprinkled in!The Happy Homeowner recently posted..Do You Always Have an Excuse for Why You Can’t Meet Your Goals?

WOW! Powerful quote by the Dalai Lama. Like you I am sacrificing my time and in a way my health as well. It is very true that we focus so much on money than living. I have made it a goal to try and rectify this.

Time is money I agree. I think finding a right balance is important during the asset accumulation years, then hopefully you can find the perfect income / expenses lifestyle that your assets can pay for in retirement. That dalai lama phrase struck a nerve, thanks.

I like that quote a lot. You’re like the undead. You’re alive, but you are not living at all. Stuck in a job you don’t like and waste all your life away. Sometimes, it’s not just the money but the experience, family, friends, and making memories.KC @ genxfinance recently posted..What is a Trust Fund?

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